M.S. in Actuarial Science

Introduction

This M.S. program in Mathematics with concentration in Actuarial Science aims to prepare students for careers as practicing actuaries in the insurance, pension, financial or consulting industries. The M.S. program is completely inappropriate for students intending to pursue academic careers in research and teaching. Such students should pursue a Ph.D. for which this M.S. program provides no meaningful preparation.

The M.S. program offers coursework encompassing almost all of the subject matter for the first five professional examinations of the Society of Actuaries and Casualty Actuarial Society allowing students flexibility to focus on the particular material for which they are ready. These courses provide rigorous academic coverage of the material and are not specifically aimed at exam-prep, which is the student’s own responsibility. The program offers elective coursework meeting all of the Validation by Educational Experience (VEE) requirements of the two professional societies. In addition, advanced coursework in Statistics, Finance, Investing, Accounting and Economics is available. Students typically complete the degree in 3 or 4 semesters of full-time study and a few do it in 2 semesters. Rarely, a student completes the program on a part-time basis, which takes longer.

Students do well in this program if they enter with a high GPA bachelor’s degree in mathematics, statistics, physics, engineering, quantitative economics, or other related fields and want a career applying their already strong mathematics skills and knowledge to the understanding and solution of problems involving risk and the financing of risk. No prior knowledge of actuarial science, business, finance or investing is required but the mathematics background is essential. We expect applicants to have completed undergraduate coursework in differential calculus, integral calculus, multivariable calculus, differential equations, linear algebra and mathematical probability/statistics (taught in a calculus framework). If one of these is missing it can be made up upon enrollment, but usually an applicant’s background should be missing no more than one of these.

In addition to the Graduate School requirements for admission: We want three recommendation letters, preferably from mathematics instructors. GRE quantitative section scores for those we admit average at about the 95th percentile, and rarely fall below the 90th percentile. Undergraduate GPAs for those we admit average about 3.5/4.0 for quantitative coursework.

For international student admission, TOEFL scores of 55 or more in the total of the Reading and Listening scores are preferred; teaching assistantship, when offered, requires either 28 on the Speaking score, or 23-27 plus passing UConn’s microteaching test.

Students with extensive prior actuarial study may be better served going directly into their careers rather than into this degree program. There are no actuarial jobs outside of academia that require any actuarial degree or any advanced degree of any kind. Actuarial professional exams are designed specifically with self-study in view. While most students are recent graduates, we also welcome returning students who wish to upgrade their skills to enter a new career or advance with their current employers.

For the admissions process see Admission. In the online application, apply for M.S. in Mathematics, concentration in Actuarial Science.

The M.S. in Mathematics concentration in Actuarial Science qualifies as a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) degree with the federal government. Foreign students who earn the degree may be eligible for the STEM extension to the OPT (Optional Practical Training) program, allowing a total of 29 months of post-graduation employment in the U.S.

Both the Society of Actuaries (SOA) and the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) announced changes to their examination requirements effective in 2018. In response to these changes, we made course changes and additions to our program curriculum. We also took this opportunity to further strengthen our curriculum to provide students a better balance of topics covering life, health, and property and casualty insurance, and to improve their statistical modeling capabilities. These changes are reflected on this website and are in effect for students admitted in Fall 2018 and later.

Please also consult Hartford Campus offerings for many of the above courses. Enrollment in the Hartford Campus can be made only by arrangement with the Applied Financial Mathematics program director in the Mathematics
department.

There are some undergraduate courses of interest to some master’s students and in which they can enroll when seats are available (ask instructor), but these courses are not eligible to be included in the M.S. degree requirement:

Actuarial Exams

In order to graduate with a master’s degree, two of the mathematics department’s preliminary Ph.D. qualifying examinations must be passed (administered each year in August and January). Alternatively, passing grades on two exams of the Society of Actuaries or the Casualty Actuarial Society provide a waiver to the department qualifying examinations and is the preferred method to meet this requirement.